A listener writes “I recently attended a meeting of my local Purple Heart chapter for combat wounded veterans. There were six of us in total three from the Global War on Terror and three Vietnam veterans. What stood out was that every Vietnam veteran who had been wounded shared that they had seen what they called a “rock ape.”
As they told their stories, the rest of us those from GWOT, myself included remained quiet. After the meeting, I spoke privately with another GWOT veteran, who admitted he had also witnessed unusual things while serving as an Army instructor on a base.
My own experience happened on the eastern shore of Cougar Reservoir in Oregon. I was camping with my family when, close to midnight, something began approaching our campsite. I first heard heavy footsteps about 100 meters away. As it drew closer, I realized I had to stand my ground. It was moving toward us steadily not sprinting, but deliberately giving my ex-wife time to turn on the SUV’s lights and get our two toddlers out of the tent and into the vehicle, about 40 feet away.
I positioned myself between the approaching figure and my family. It came down from a hill toward our campsite by the water, a distance I later confirmed to be about 100 meters. When it got within roughly 40 meters, I fired a couple of warning shots with my 9mm, though it felt completely inadequate. My plan, if it came closer, was to aim for the eye shine to buy my family more time.
At around 20 30 meters, I could feel the vibration of its footsteps through the ground beneath my bare feet. Strangely, it kept its eyes covered as it approached. The SUV’s headlights were shining directly at it on high beams, yet I couldn’t see any eye reflection. I’ve never been able to shake the feeling that it understood what I was trying to do.
It stopped about 12 feet in front of me and remained there while we finished loading the car. Once everyone was inside, I slowly backed away, got into the SUV, and drove us out along the narrow road leading from the campsite.
For most of the encounter, I actually thought I was dealing with an elephant something large that could move quietly despite its size. I heard no brush breaking, despite the dense vegetation only the sound of its footsteps. I didn’t smell anything, even when it was close. When I finally saw it clearly, my first thought was that it looked almost artificial, like something constructed. It took a while to come to terms with what I saw.
I have no doubt that these creatures exist as living, physical beings. What unsettles me most is the pattern described by the Vietnam veterans each of them had seen one shortly before being wounded in separate incidents. My own encounter came much later, as did the other GWOT veteran’s.
Over the years, I’ve spoken with hundreds of veterans, often asking those with extensive time in the wilderness if they’ve ever experienced anything unusual. Most say no, or mention only distant, unexplained sounds. But in that room of Purple Heart recipients, only one of the six had not directly described seeing something. The rest of us had encountered what appeared to be a large, upright walking ape. Half of those sightings reportedly occurred just days before being wounded. To be fair, the one individual who didn’t share may simply have chosen to remain silent.”